Mobile communication devices may have different form factors such as candy bar, rotator, clam shell and slider form factors. In a mobile communication device with a slider form factor, two housings may be referred to as a base housing and a slider housing. In a mobile communication device with a slider form factor, keys for user input can be located on both housing. It may happen that a user accidentally presses and holds a key while he or she is sliding the slide up (open) or down (close), eventually releasing the key once the slide has been fully opened or closed. Accordingly, in a slider form factor, there may be slider key falsing while a user is trying to open and/or close the slide.
Slider key falsing may occur under different circumstances. In one example, when a user wishes to put the telephone away into his or her pocket, in the process of closing the slide down, the user may unintentionally activate one of the soft keys which is programmed for a video camera. Were the camera equipped with a 700 mA-hr Li-Ion battery, video camera activation may draw over 100 mA constant current so that the battery may die in less than seven hours.
In one solution, manufactures have included a slide lock or a keypad lock in software. In another solution, manufactures have included a spring latch for opening the slider. However, even with these solutions, slider key falsing can persist.